


A man of culture.

by satans_dolly_boy666



Series: I've been watching Ｃｏｄｅ Ｇｅａｓｓ over and over again. [4]
Category: Code Geass
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Ashford Academy, Bilingual, Boarding School, Gen, Hidden Talents, High School, Identity, Identity Swap, Japanese, Japanese Character(s), Languages, Lelouch speaking Japanese, Maids, No Beta, One Shot, Parent-Child Relationship, Photographs, Royalty, School, School Life, Secret Identity, Short One Shot, Student Council, Teenage Drama, Teenagers, basically lol, hidden identity, mix of cultures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satans_dolly_boy666/pseuds/satans_dolly_boy666
Summary: There's a kid wandering inside the school halls, and no one knows why. The students are concerned because that child is not only scared, but he is also an Eleven and seems to speak only Japanese. Kallen IS half-Japanese, but speaking a language other than English will cast suspicion on her origins. Lelouch appears to surprise everyone.
Relationships: Kouzuki Kallen & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Kouzuki Kallen & Nina Einstein, Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia & Everyone, Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia & Original Character, Milly Ashford & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Nunnally vi Britannia & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Rivalz Cardemonde & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia, Shirley Fenette & Lelouch Lamperouge | Lelouch vi Britannia
Series: I've been watching Ｃｏｄｅ Ｇｅａｓｓ over and over again. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1603594
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	A man of culture.

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify, in my Code Geass world, the Japanese language is forbidden once Japan is invaded and has lost the war. Instead, English becomes the official language. Of course, this is a big change for the Japanese and many apply to speaking only Japanese at home and English when they must work.  
> Nothing more to say!

It was a normal day at Ashford Academy, only it wasn't.

It all started with a peculiar noise, and boy, in that school there are all kinds of noises but never that of a child crying. Did someone bring their little brother to school? Or is someone a teen parent and no one knew about it to begin with? Well, that was questionable because the child was an **Eleven**. The students didn't know what to do, some thought of calling the authorities but that was definitely a bad idea. No Eleven was going to come out well from Briannia's authoritarian hands and brute force, no matter how old they were.

It wasn't long before the student council members arrived on the scene of the scandal. Many expected Milly Ashford to come up with a solution, after all she was the daughter of the principal and founder of the school, something had to be done about it, didn't it?

"What's going on here? What's all the fuss about?" said Milly with her demanding but usual carefree tone.

"There's a child!"

"A what?"

"A child, there's a child in the school!" said the somewhat exasperated student.

"Well, let me see. Go, go, move!"

When the crowd moved aside to make way for the student council, it was certainly a new scenario to be remembered at school. It's not as if there weren't many other weird situations witnessed in that place, but a child? that's definitely unique.

"It's... it's an _Eleven_!" said Nina in a slightly panicked spirit. Everyone went silent.

"Yeah, we can see that, he's a **Japanese**. Hey kid, what's your name?" said Kallen approaching. If anyone noticed the defensiveness of her statement towards Nina, no one said anything about it.

But the little one didn't answer. He was very small, maybe as young as three? He was simply tiny. And he was all drooling, in some ratty clothes. The child sat in the corners holding a plush toy in his arms as if it were a shield to protect him from all the bad things in the world out there. He was adorable, but he was kind of pitiful to watch. Kallen came closer to the boy, and he said some babbling sounds beyond all comprehension by anyone. To everybody except Kallen herself.

"ママはどこ？" _(Where'smama?)_ said the small fellow first in a low voice, to then shout at the top of his lungs, "ママが欲しい！" _(I want mama!)_ And just like that, the kid started crying.

"You must be joking," exclaimed Rivalz as he covered his ears. "Suzaku is never here when we need him!"

Then there was a soft voice saying, "Don't blame him, his army duty comes first."

It was Nunnally with her brother escorting her.

"I heard a noise made by a child and therefore followed it. My brother complied."

"Lelouch would accept anything in exchange for not finishing his job as vice-president in the first place!" said Shirley in a reproachful manner.

"It's break time. And I was with my sister."

Well, but that certainly wasn't the time for another silly scene from the student council. Rivalz interrupted the pair of idiots and again exclaimed his concern of the moment.

"Guys, don't you hear that unbearable scream? There's a kid crying his eyes out here!"

Nina, still a bit shaken (truthfully, there was nothing to be afraid of, he was just a little toddler!) said in a low voice, "he's somewhat dirty..." but it was heard with clarity.

Kallen, this time she didn't say anything in a defensive manner, but she ignored Nina completely and said, "He's scared, maybe he's lost."

"Oh, no. Did he say something?" Nunnally asked with concern. But Nina opened her mouth again and stated, "He's an Eleven!" Milly, for her part, translated those words with "He seems to speak only Japanese."

Lelouch looked sideways at Kallen who was trying to approach the boy in an attempt to calm him down, failing miserably. She, as well as Lelouch and Nunally, knew how to speak a language other than Britannia's native tongue.

Kallen seemed agitated, like wanting to act but hesitant at the same time, and of course she had a lot to think about because if she spoke Japanese right now, what would they say about her background? Kallen has some Asian features in her face, some smooth, hidden ones, but they're definitely there. Lelouch, on the other hand, was 100% Britannian, his demeanour didn't scream any Japanese in that regard.

Lelouch touched his temples. He didn't want to attract attention, his sister's safety was a priority, but what else could he do in those moments? His silly Japanese friend was not there, and his maid was not available there.

So, Lelouch simply acted; he knew he could be saved by some excuse in case of any questioning towards him.

"迷ったの？" _(Did you get lost?)_ he said as he approached the child who was on guard; he was quiet after he understood the question.

" はい..." _(Yes...)_

The little boy reached out his arms, wanting to be lifted. Lelouch was chilled out, but he grabbed him anyway.

" ママは働く。" _(Mom works.)_

"ここに？" _(Here?)_

"はい。" _(Yes.)_

The other students watched the scene in bewilderment. Lelouch Lamperouge, popular for not wanting to study more than necessary, was engaging in a conversation in another language with a child. And not just any language, it wasn't French or Spanish, it was no more than Japanese, the language of the Eleven people.

"His mother works here, she must be a cleaner."

"Uh... Lelouch? When did you learn Japanese?" asked Rivalz with his eyes wide open.

"I haven't learned it completely, I only know the basics." But Kallen is not stupid, his Japanese was perfect, nearly like a native. She stared at him with sharp eyes as if to shout through them that he was an untrustworthy liar.

Some began to whisper between themselves, in some confusion. It was normal to learn another language, just not _that_ language. Milly, not at all surprised, began to address the issue of finding the mother. It was just a matter of checking the cleaning staff.

After half an hour, the child was still in Lelouch's arms. He looked like an angel compared to the temper fury of minutes ago, and he even appeared to be sleepy. Shirley took out her cell phone and took a picture out of it just for fun.

"What are you doing? Delete it."

"No! It's a memento to remind us that you have a soft side!"

The young man was going to complain but Kallen said, "Lelouch, a soft side? Well, now that you mention it, in the picture it looks almost like a good person."

Lelouch gave her one of those stares he gives CC when he feels irritated, but he couldn't play along because Milly and a woman appeared.

" 赤ちゃん！" _(Baby!)_

" ああ、ママ！" _(Ah, mama!)_

The child freed himself from the teenager's arms immediately, almost falling straight to the ground. The woman, on the other hand, had a brief time hugging her son, as well as scolding him for leaving the place where she had left him. Then she pulled her son out of the way and threw herself to the floor, bowing in a manner worthy of a repentant slave. Milly, Kallen and Nunnally weren't the only ones who were uncomfortable with that.

"Forgive me, please forgive me! Don't take my job! I didn't want to bring him, but I had no choice!"

Milly couldn't stand another second and lifted the woman off the floor. "Hey, that's not necessary, come on, calm down and tell us your reason slower now."

The woman never raised her face, letting it be understood that she would be submissive to any punishment except that of quitting her job.

"My husband died a week ago... he looked after our son when it was my time to work, and I looked after him when he had to work nights and weekends... but... but no longer..."

No one interrupted her, no one asked anything and they let her continue talking. So, that's what she did.

"I have no one else. It was my husband and I. I have to bring my son in and leave him in a small room for hours until I finish my work."

At this point, Nunnally, always empathetic, wanted to save both people; Kallen was clenching her fists out of anger, and Milly crossed her arms, sighing deeply.

"What do we do now?" said Shirley; Rivalz and Nina this time said nothing.

"I have an idea," said Lelouch, drawing everyone out of his thoughts.

"Oh? You again. Now what?" said Kallen in frustration.

"Sayoko can take care of him."

"Ah! Sayoko! Brother, what a good idea!"

Sayoko Shinozaki was more than a maid, she was an undercover agent, there was no one better than her to take care of Nunnally; an extra child would not interfere with anything. Not everyone did understand it, and the child's mother was the first to clearly not understand a single word.

Milly and Nunnally told her everything, and she looked both relieved and glad, genuinely content and grateful.

"Thank you very much! Thank you very much!" she said bowing again, this time, without touching her whole body to the floor.

It was all perfect, the boy would learn more than Japanese next to Nunnaly, but he would not forget his native language next to Sayoko.

At the end of the hectic day, Shirley was still showing off by watching a picture of Lelouch carrying a child. According to her, it was adorable, according to others, hard to believe.

"また紫目少年よ！" _(See you, purple-eyed boy!)_

"Bye-bye, 泣き虫。" _(Bye-bye, crybaby.)_

They greeted the woman with her son, the first one still a bit emotional; Kallen and Lelouch were left alone at some point, and the redhead finally broke the silence there.

"So... Japanese, huh? What else do you keep to yourself, Lelouch Lamperouge?"

"What can I say, I'm a man of culture." 

* * *

* * *

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: I used a translator for the Japanese dialogues (haha) I hope I didn't make a mess of it, sorry to everyone who knows Japanese, I am a dumb ass.
> 
> Oh, I also think Lelouch is bilingual or has a fluency in Japanese from the years he has spent with the Kururugi family. His accent in English and Japanese is up for debate, but he's a genius and that's it. 
> 
> I don't know, I just write haha


End file.
